1. Field of the Invention
A building construction member including a rectangular web with perpendicular flanges extending from one face thereof along opposed edges to form a C-channel shaped construction element which is fabricated from a single piece of reconstituted wood composite panel, such as oriented strand board (OSB).
2. Description of the Prior Art
There is a continuing need for improvements in structural materials particularly those suitable for housing and light commercial/industrial buildings. There is a growing shortage of larger trees from which to make traditional structural and framing lumber. Witness the proliferation of composite and engineered structural wood products over the past 20 years such as roof tresses and various designs of wood I-beams and laminated veneer lumber (LVL) for floor joists, headers and beams. Witness also the shift among major forest products manufacturers from plywood panels, which require large logs for veneer peeling, to reconstituted structural panels such as wafer board and oriented strand board OSB, which are made of wafers and strands of wood fiber made from small parts of large trees or large parts of small trees. In other words, there is a trend to make better use of a shrinking supply of large, mature timber as well as to utilize smaller, younger trees and parts. Wood producers are finding it practical and economical to fabricate structural wood products using small pieces of wood, glue and pressure. It has been the observation of the applicant that not only are structural lumber pieces becoming scarcer and more expensive, but the problems of warping, twisting, racking and inconsistency are becoming more common as quality declines. Lumber that is straight is available but at premium prices.
Another large factor in the lumber market is freight and storage costs. This invention offers improvements in both of these areas.
There have been numerous attempts to use composite wood material structural elements, most of these have been slight variations on the wood I-beam which have been intended for the relatively heavier framing functions of floor and roof construction. Composite timber and metal plate floor joints and roof tresses are quite common. Laminated veneer lumber (LVL) is used for heavy duty components such as beams and headers.
There have been few attempts brought to public attention at utilizing engineered or composite wood components for simple framing lumber such as 2.times.2, 2.times.4, and 2.times.6 for wall construction. Two components have recently attempted to reach into this commodity stud market. One was a smaller composite wood I-beam used in place of 2.times.6 vertical studs. The other was a solid wood stud machined to I-beam shape for nesting in shipping and attachment. Neither system seems to offer apparent advantages over conventional lumber that would merit the additional fabrication and expense.